Olufemi Adediran 
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has built a 100-kilowatt solar-powered mini-grid system at Eriwe farm village in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
The farm village hosts one of the biggest fish farms in Nigeria.
REA Managing Director, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, led a team on the inspection of the project at the farm village sitting on over 156 hectares of land.
Speaking with journalists after the inspection of the grid and a tour around the farm, Ahmad explained that the project was part of REA’s policies on the alleviation of poverty especially around the agricultural sector.
Ahmad, a renewable energy advocate, said the one-per-geopolitical zone project would reduce cost and reliance on fuel to power-pumping machines by the fish farmers, most especially now that the fuel subsidy had been removed.
“The project is part of our pragmatic approach to budgeting that we have been doing in the last couple of years where we are looking at alleviation of poverty especially around the agricultural sector. We have one in each of the geopolitical zones.
“What we have seen here is a 100-kilowatt system, powering the agricultural setting under the Ijebu development community programme for poverty alleviation.
“Beyond the mini-grid being powered, this inspection is to see what is the best use of the power that we have provided here,” he said.
The REA MD said the project would be powering 10 percent of the farm, but “there is a plan for expansion of the project based on the demands we get.”
Ahmad added that “This is 100 kilowatts and I am hearing that it is only powering 10 percent and so essentially, it means we are talking about one megawatt.
“In terms of the payment, obviously, it is not going to be free because this is something the government has done as a proof of concept so that we can create that environment for private developers to actually expand upon it.”
He noted that the subscription fee would be determined by the stakeholders in such a way that it would be affordable to the farmers.
The President of the Farmer Aquaculture Union, Eriwe Farm Village, Quadri Nurudeen Oriyomi described the project as a welcome development, saying it would relieve the farmers.
According to him, after subsidy removal, it has been difficult for farmers to buy N500 per litre of fuel to power their pumping machines because it won’t yield any profit.
He expressed the farmers’ willingness to pay for the subscription, saying it would pay off if compared to the money spent daily to buy fuel.
“The project can only cover 10 percent because the land here is over 156 hectares where we have over 500 farmers. We have about 42 groups and in each group, we have over 30 people. This as they said is just like a sample to test-run how it is going to go around so that everybody will benefit.
“By the time you calculate it, this will just take care of 40 ponds, I mean 40 pumping machines out of over 200 pumping machines. Definitely, we have agreed to subscribe to solar power with a minimum price that is not going to affect the farmers.
“We appeal that they expand solar power to make other farmers benefit so that it won’t lead to beefing. For instance, some farmers will be enjoying solar while others will be using fuel, which may cause a crisis.”
